12.Practice.Tests.for.the.SAT_2015-2016_1128p

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1 2 Practice Tests for the SAT
Practice Test Eleven Answers and Explanations
scope; this one may be tempting, since you know that mail
was more popular in the fourteenth century, but you don't
actually know that it was more effective. Maybe the increase
in its popularity was due to some other cause. Choice (C)
is a misuse of detail; mail fell out of use due to improved
stabbing weapons, but not until after the 14th century.
Choice (D) is extreme; steel plates are mentioned in the
discussion of the lorica segmentata, and the author also
notes that primarily cavalry troops used chain mail. There's
no real evidence, however, that steel plates weren't practical
for cavalry or that no cavalry troops used steel plates. Choice
(E) suits the facts you noted in your prediction.
10. A
Difficulty: Low
Although fashion often refers to fancy clothing, it's used
here to mean that the craftsmen made chain mail, so
making is a fine prediction.
Choice (A) fits your prediction. In (B), is it the art of
purchasing chain mail? That doesn't work. Choice (C) is a
distracter based on the more common meaning of fashion.
In (D), locating chain mail is not an art. Choice (E) also
seems to refer to the more common meaning of fashionsewing
isn't the right word to use with thick, heavy armor.
11. B
Difficulty: Medium
You can't make a prediction on such an open-ended
question, so spend your time carefully sorting through the
answer choices. Eliminate anything that's contradicted by the
passage or anything not directly stated or implied.
Choice (A) is an opposite; there seem to have been plenty
of craftsmen. The problem was that different weapons
made the mail obsolete. Choice (B) is true. Starting in the
14th century, mail became popular because it offered
superior protection. Choice (C) is out of scope; although
the mail became popular starting in the 14th century, you
don't know that it was limited to that time. It may have
continued to be available into the 1 5th century or for even
longer. Choice (D) is extreme; although mail was eventually
replaced, there's no evidence that this was an immediate
transition. Also, the author certainly wouldn't describe chain
mail as of limited usefulness. Choice (E) is out of scope; the
author never discusses modern uses of chain mail.
12. D
Difficulty: Low
Except questions require you to eliminate the four true
choices in order to identify the one false one. That false
choice is the correct answer. Compare each answer choice
against the process described in paragraph 3.
Choice (A) is true. This appears in the third sentence.
Choice (B) is true. This appears in the third sentence.
Choice (C) is true. This appears in the second sentence.
Choice (D) is false. This refers to the lorica segmentata in
the first paragraph, not to chain mail.
Choice (E) is true. This appears in the second sentence.
13. E
Difficulty: Medium
For Function questions about a single sentence, the key is
usually to identify the role of that sentence in its paragraph.
The sentence in question says that it was very hard to make
chain mail, and much of the third paragraph then describes
what this process was.
Choice (A) is out of scope; the author never advances a
particular opinion or argument and certainly never counters
an argument. Choice (B) is extreme; although it's important
that it was difficult to make chain mail, this idea is only
one aspect of the entire topic. It's not the central thesis.
Choice (C) is an opposite; actually, the sentence is itself
an assertion, and the information that follows provides the
evidence. Choice (D) is out of scope; there's no paradox
anywhere in the passage. Choice (E) matches your
prediction well.
Questions 14-24
Paragraph 1 establishes the location and characterizes
Thomas's feelings about growing up on a farm. Paragraph
2 gives a bit of the history of the farm and Thomas's
family's experience with it, while in paragraph 3, Thomas's
relationship with his father is explored. In paragraph 4, you
learn more about Thomas's family, especially his father.
Paragraph 5 provides you with the root of the conflict in
the story: despite his father's efforts, the farm would not
survive another generation in the family. In paragraph 6, you
learn that Thomas is an adult, looking over the farm (now a
construction site) one last time, while a flood of associated
thoughts and feelings wash over him. Paragraph 7 conveys